Sarwat Gilani is no stranger to complex roles; with the critically-acclaimed web series “Churails”, she’s tapped into yet another dimension of her craft. Following the resounding success of the series, she chats with Mehek Raza Rizvi about the conception of “Churails”, portraying roles responsibly and how she prepared to essay Sara

“Churails” is the first Pakistan-made original series for Indian streaming platform Zee5 Global. We’re curious to know the background behind this affiliation. Who reached out first? 

Shailja Saraswati Varghese, who heads content at Zee5 had noticed Asim Abbasi’s movie “Cake” and found it to be an interesting piece of art. She approached Asim and suggested they collaborate. At that point, Asim was in the process of writing the first draft of “Churails” and so he put together the pilot and sent it across. She liked it and asked him to write her a couple of more episodes, which he did and the rest is history. She loved the concept and commissioned Asim to create Pakistan’s first original product for Zee5. She gave him a lot of creative liberty to do things his way, because she could understand that he’s like a stallion—you can’t control Asim.

Did the team consider that the association of “Churails” with an Indian streaming platform could possibly hurt the sentiments of some of your local fans? 

A product like this is not for television or film. It had to be a web series; it was written for web and sadly, we don’t have an online portal of our own yet. If Netflix or Amazon had asked us for our content, that wouldn’t have been a problem, so why should this be? Art has no boundaries and artists want to exchange work. We don’t want to put ourselves in these little matchboxes saying “this is my world” and “this is where my art stays.” Art and music are forms you can’t control; they’re like water. If we had a Pakistani platform and we didn’t use it, then we would’ve at least given a thought to what people would say, but in the absence of such an option, if someone showed interest in Pakistan and its talent, I don’t think there was any room for resistance or second thoughts.

Asim has attempted to show the real, grey people. They could come from any part of society, but they have fallen, they have risen, they have imperfections, but also some great qualities. Your positives and negatives make you human

“Churails” is a brave script, unlike any other to have been produced in the country. However, something as courageous is always susceptible to backlash. Is/was that a fear? 

When I read the script, I knew this was a page-turner. The exceptional story is the hero of the project, it is both the antagonist and the protagonist and that’s a very unique concept to come across. With something so different, there are always fears about how it’ll be received. Whilst we were making it, we did have our doubts about people taking this well, or us hurting the feelings of part of our audience. However, we were blown away with the overwhelming love and encouragement we received when the trailer released and even more so after the first episode premiered. It was unreal; we had attempted to do something so unusual, it could make people feel uncomfortable, but it didn’t. And even if it did make a certain segment uncomfortable, they were happy with it, knowing that for the first time, someone had made the effort to talk about real issues women face that are normally not touched upon in our entertainment industry.

Tell us of the first thoughts you had when “Churails” was offered to you. 

My first thought was “Wow!” I was just thanking my stars to be offered an unbelievable script that would make history in Pakistan. For an actor to be offered such a role and be part of such a project is like a dream. This was the unicorn I had been looking for throughout my career. I had never read, or even watched, anything like this before. I was over the moon. This is right up my alley and I’d been waiting for it for so long. I’m an artist, a rebel—I’ll always stand up for myself and say what’s right when people try to put me down or troll me. This was a story that I could relate to. The issues addressed in this script are pertinent and important to talk about. What more could I have asked for, than someone like Asim Abbasi highlighting these topics so beautifully and sensitively? He really took ownership of the real reflections of our society.

Run us through the creative process of preparing for a role like Sara. Can you relate to the character you’re playing? 

Absolutely! I can relate to Sara completely. I think the casting was done very intelligently. Half the job was done with selecting just the right talent. I think one of the most important tasks on set is hiring the correct people and if you succeed at that, you’ve won part of the battle already.

Preparing for my role involved a lot of readings, rehearsals and personal sessions to discuss our characters, even our personal experiences—our inhibitions, sorrows and complexes—we opened up to Asim wholeheartedly, so he could understand us and see if there were any vulnerabilities he could tap into as an example when we weren’t getting something on set.

There were a lot of things that we talked about, references that we drew. A lot inspiration for Sara’s body language was drawn from Gayatri Devi, the third Maharani consort of Jaipur. I also took inspiration from Meryl Streep’s character in “The Devil Wears Prada” and for a couple of scenes with Omair Rana, I saw and studied Angelina Jolie in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” So there was a lot that I picked from reading what I had read before or going back to characters I had seen before.

There were a lot of things that we talked about, references that we drew. A lot inspiration for Sara’s body language was drawn from Gayatri Devi, the third Maharani consort of Jaipur. I also took inspiration from Meryl Streep’s character in “The Devil Wears Prada” and for a couple of scenes with Omair Rana, I saw and studied Angelina Jolie in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”

How was your experience working with an all-female cast? 

It was almost an all-female cast—we did have a few male co-stars on set as well, but it was an undeniably amazing experience! I think what made it even better was the fact that these were all actors with a background in theatre and were just fantastic at their craft. I always felt inspired by each one of them, as they brought so much to the table. The real magic was in the fact that they were always so normal, grounded and chilled out behind the camera, but as soon as they were shooting, they embodied the strong characters they were portraying so smoothly and effortlessly.

I think because we all came from the theatre community, we understood the essence of teamwork. There was no “star” on our set. We all stuck through the strenuous hours, challenging locations and hot weather, because we were working towards one goal, which was Asim’s vision—that was the beauty of “Churails.”  Our friendships have translated from reel to real life, so you can imagine what the vibe must have been like.

Why do you think it’s important to show flawed female characters on screen? 

The whole idea of “Churails” is to get acceptance for a normal, regular human being. In our drama serials, it’s either a negative or positive role, particularly for women. There are fixed stereotypes: the working woman wearing western attire will be painted as cunning, while the one clad in shalwar kameez will be painted as innocent and upright—there is no middle ground, all characters are black and white. Asim has attempted to show the real, grey people. They could come from any part of society, but they have fallen, they have risen, they have imperfections, but also some great qualities. Your positives and negatives make you human.

Mostly, we see stories of characters who aren’t relatable, but “Churails” is the story of real women, with real issues and real traits.

Do you feel gender portrayal in Pakistani drama serials will see a shift in the near future?

I really hope so. I wish “Churails” proves to be a benchmark for our entertainment industry and we move towards more message-oriented content, without creating dilemmas in the minds of our audience and taking down their intellectual ability to understand something. I feel there is no gender equality in our drama serials. In my eighteen years of working as an actress, I’ve always had to be rescued by a man: a husband, lover, father or friend. Never before have I played a character where I fell and rose myself. Every drama is built around the premise of “will they get married?” It’s quite regressive, it’s like you don’t want people to grow. I really pray that we start taking responsibility to tell the truth and stop misguiding the public.

What role can actors play in bringing about this change? 

When offered characters and stories that don’t encourage the idea of uplifting my audience or stimulating intellectual growth, I don’t accept them. If I can’t agree with a concept, I can’t preach it. This is why I’ve always done selective work. Your character has to be believable. I think actors should say no to poor content, regardless of the money involved. This is our responsibility as entertainers. We should not support putting women down in particular.

Women will definitely take away the fact that they aren’t the only ones with flaws. By showing the reality of our world, we’re aiming to make our resilient women realise that they’re born to fly, not crawl

What do you hope, both women and men take away from the web series?  

Women will definitely take away the fact that they aren’t the only ones with flaws. By showing the reality of our world, we’re aiming to make our resilient women realise that they’re born to fly, not crawl. Men on the other hand, will be reminded of all the cracks they’ve made in society and also of the unfair expectations they have of women. We want men to be a little uncomfortable, so they understand this is the new age; every woman has a voice and they are going to fail in shunning us.

More importantly, what has been your biggest takeaway from your experience working on “Churails?”

I think my most favourite experience has been unlearning my preconceived notions about acting.

Photography: Rizwan ul Haq  | Styling: Ella Hussain at Emergency Room 19

Wardrobe: Yellow dress dress courtesy Asim Jofa  | Hair & Makeup: Arshad Khan

Jewellery: Rouge by Rooj Amir and Jewels by Irma Hasan